Growing up in Peru, Alessandra Alegre dreamed of a career in the music industry, and she came to Nashville in 2012 to pursue it. After graduating from Belmont University with a music business degree, she found her way into music publishing.

“I’ve always wanted to be an advocate for songwriters and artists, and my role lets me use my analytical skills to ensure they get paid fairly and transparently,” Alessandra says. “I love music, and this is a way of giving back to the community that has given me so much.”

As her career began to take off, Alessandra saw opportunities to grow. “I wanted the tools to become a better leader,” she says. “I wanted to enhance my business acumen while strengthening my financial and strategic decision making skills. I have big goals for my career, and I knew that to accomplish them, I had to ‘level up.’”

As a mother with a young child, it would have been easy for Alessandra to postpone a decision to return to school. “There’s no such thing as the perfect time,” she says. “If this is something you feel pulled to do, trust yourself. Life will always be busy.”

While the program has meant extra work, Alessandra says the community she found through it has “helped me feel less alone in this chapter in life. Being surrounded by people who are balancing big jobs, personal goals, and families makes it easier to give myself grace and encouragement.”

Another source of encouragement: Even before completing her first year, Alessandra earned a promotion. Her Vanderbilt experience, she says, “has helped me believe that my professional goals and aspirations are within reach. My recent promotion felt like a turning point.

“I’m thinking more strategically and becoming a better decision maker in my organization. I’m being trusted to lead bigger teams and projects, and I don’t think the timing is a coincidence.”